MEG OF THE COWLITZ
by Mary Garvey
Sung by Mary Garvey
Recorded on "Songs of the Pacific Northwest"

I'm Meg of the Cowlitz upriver I came
My mother and father were one and the same
The water that bore me gave me its name
And the river runs faster than me

Chorus: And I won't have a man unless he understands
Meg of the Cowlitz makes no demands
I'll walk where he walks on these beautiful lands
And the river runs faster than me

I gather my twigs for my baskets and brooms
Gather my herbs for my spells and perfumes
The fur from my rabbits goes straight to my looms
And the river runs faster than me

Chorus

There's fish and there's berries there's night and there's day
There's work and there's hunger there's rest and there's play
Here I was born and here I will stay
And the river runs faster than me

And I won't have a man unless he understands
Meg of the Cowlitz makes no demands
He'll walk where I walk on these beautiful lands
And the river flows faster than me

Pacific Nothwest Folklore Society